"You have to be passionate about something that makes you wake up in the middle of the night. That's all you need. Then you feel like you're in the flow and doing what you're supposed to be doing"
-Jill Soloway, a writer and coproducer of HBO's Six Feet Under

It seems so simple: just follow what excites you. But many people don't even know they're permitted to do that. Tom First, cofounder of Nantucket Nectars, told us, "I wasn't even sure if I was allowed to do what I wanted to do."

Mike Lazzo didn't have any problem following what excited him. "I had no direction when I was in high school. I was expected to go to college or work in the textile industry like my father had done. But I just couldn't do it because it was too boring. At night, I did what I really wanted to do: watch television, think about it, and bore people with my opinions. It slowly dawned on me that maybe I'd just get a job in the mailroom at a television network. I thought it was important to be close to my natural interest. They could have told me I'd be digging holes; as long as there were TV monitors in the vicinity, I would have been happy."

So Mike went to work in the mailroom at Turner Broadcasting in his hometown, Atlanta. He started by delivering mail. "Delivering mail turned out to be the best job in the world because I got to know everyone at the company." Over time, he became the guy who decided which movies would play on Tuesday nights. "I could actually get paid to watch TV and have an opinion." Today, Mike is the senior vice president of programming for the Cartoon Network, a subsidiary of Turner Broadcasting, and is known as one of the leaders in his field. "There's always something-that thing you would do for no money. Identify that and you've found your perfect job, if you're willing to work at it. My ability to work hard definitely helped me, but natural interest is what keeps people getting out of bed."

We also interviewed a renowned professor at the Harvard Business School in Boston, Dr. William Sahlman. He has watched thousands of students go through his classes, and evaluates what they've done right, and what they've done wrong. "I've had four thousand students here at Harvard over the years, so I've had opportunities to watch them go out and evolve. I would say the biggest mistake people make is following other people down a path rather than doing what they're really passionate about."

After hearing so many stories that echoed this same perspective, we started giving a lot of thought to what excited us in our own lives. We started to study ourselves, and when we did, we didn't have to look far to find out what we had a natural interest in. This project was what lit us up. Doing exactly what we were doing. And, sure, it didn't seem like the most realistic of "careers," but three years later we're still doing it. Just like Mike Lazzo is still watching television.

The Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Several concerts on the Dixie Chicks' "Accidents & Accusations" tour have been canceled after slow ticket sales, but the group says it has replaced them with other dates.

Kansas City, Houston, St. Louis, Memphis and Knoxville are among 14 cities no longer on the original schedule released in May, according to a revised itinerary posted Thursday on the Dixie Chick's Web site.

Other shows, including Nashville, Los Angeles, Denver and Phoenix, have been pushed back to later dates.

The North American leg of the tour kicked off July 21 in Detroit. Billboard magazine and other trade publications have reported lackluster sales in some markets, particularly in the South and Midwest.

Group spokeswoman Kathy Allmand said Monday that the total number of North American dates remains the same, with several Canadian cities added in place of the U.S. shows.

The trio released a statement last week attributing the changes to attempts to "accommodate demand" and said more dates might be added next year.

The group also said the adjustments will allow them to promote the documentary "Dixie Chicks: Shut up and Sing," for the Toronto International Film Festival in September.

"We hope that our fans who were looking forward to a stop that is no longer on the tour will be able to join us at a nearby arena this fall, and we are sorry for any confusion or inconvenience these changes have caused," the Dixie Chicks said.

Many country fans criticized the band after lead singer Natalie Maines told a London audience in 2003 on the eve of war in Iraq that the trio was "ashamed" President Bush was from their home state of Texas.

County radio stations dropped them from their playlists and have been slow to welcome them back, despite strong sales of their latest album, "Taking the Long Way."